Prices Surge, Six Indonesian Coal Barons Grow Richer

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Coal prices briefly rose to around US$138 per tonne on Tuesday, the highest level since November 2024, after an outage at Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities boosted demand for fuel-switching in the power generation sector.

The rise came after Iran’s drone attack on Qatar’s key LNG export hub, highlighting rising tensions in the Middle East. The facility accounts for around 20% of global LNG supply and has never fully halted operations in its 30-year history.

With many Asian economies dependent on LNG from Qatar, Taiwan said it may increase coal-fired power generation if supply disruptions persist.

Meanwhile, expectations for continued strong global demand are bigger than push toward cleaner energy. China, the world’s largest coal producer and consumer, continues to add new coal-fired power capacity to safeguard energy security and grid stability.

China’s domestic thermal coal market performed fairly well in February, driven by solid power demand after the winter season and bullish sentiment in energy markets.

Several factors underpinning market strength in February include stable electricity demand from utilities and industry and positive market sentiment, partly driven by concerns about global energy supply.

The coal mining business has long been a lucrative sector. Many figures have amassed wealth from this business, rivaling global conglomerates.

Here are the six Indonesian coal barons compiled by CNBC Indonesia:

Low Tuck Kwong

Dato’ Low Tuck is an Indonesian businessman and owner of PT Bayan Resources Tbk (BYAN), one of the largest coal mining companies by market capitalization on the domestic exchange. BYAN is the largest coal issuer on the domestic stock exchange.

Forbes notes that Low currently has a net worth of US$25.5 billion. He is listed as the 83rd richest person in the world.

Widjaja Family

The family led by the late Eka Tjipta Widjaja controls Sinar Mas Group, a conglomerate from the New Order era. The Sinar Mas Group owns PT Dian Swastika Sentosa Tbk. (DSSA), active in energy and infrastructure.

Subsidiaries of DSSA, PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk. (GEMS) and Golden Energy and Resources Ltd. (GEAR), contribute to coal. GEAR not only owns mines in Indonesia but also acquired Australian mining assets Stanmore Coal in 2018. Eka’s son, Franky Oesman Widjaja, became Chairman of DSSA.

The Widjaja wealth reaches US$18.9 billion and ranks as the 4th richest conglomerate in Indonesia.

Garibaldi Thohir

Older brother of BUMN Minister Erick Thohir, he together with Theodore Permadi Rachmat and Edwin Soeryadjaya founded the giant Adaro Energy Indonesia Tbk. (ADRO), which when it first listed in 2008 achieved the largest IPO in history; this record was recently surpassed by Bukalapak.

Adaro’s mining sites are spread across Sumatra and Kalimantan; there are also mining sites in Australia acquired in 2018. Some mining companies under the Adaro Group include PT Mustika Indah Permai (MIP), PT Bukit Enim Energi (BEE), Adaro Metcoal Companies (AMC), PT Bhakti Energi Persada (BEP), and many others.

At the end of 2022 Forbes placed the man known as Boy at 15th on Indonesia’s 50 Richest with wealth of US$3.45 billion or Rp 54.01 trillion. Then in 2023 his wealth was US$3.3 billion (Rp 51.29 trillion), ranking him 17th richest. By 2024 his wealth reached US$5.3 billion.

Kiki Barki

Kiki Barki founded the coal mining company Harum Energi Tbk. (HRUM) in 1995 and the company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010. Barki controls 79.79% of HRUM, which has been listed since 1995.

Besides Harum Energy, Kiki also owns privately held Tanito Harum. Currently, his elder son Lawrence Barki serves as interim president commissioner of Harum, while his younger son Steven Scott Barki is a commissioner.

In 2022 Forbes put Kiki’s net worth at US$1.9 billion (Rp 29.6 trillion). In 2023 it was US$1.41 billion (Rp 21.92 trillion), ranking him as the 33rd richest. In 2024 his wealth reached US$1.3 billion.

Edwin Soeryadjaya

Tjia Han Pun, aka Edwin Soeryadjaya, was born on 17 July 1949 after his parents returned from the Netherlands. When he was born, the Indonesia–Netherlands war was waning. His father William Soeryadjaya was starting to build Astra.

Around 1997-1998 Edwin, together with Sandiaga Uno, founded Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk. (SRTG). He became the company’s top executive during the Indonesian monetary crisis. Saratoga is a financial company that later expanded.

After 2000 coal mining surged in Indonesia. Edwin Soeryadjaya later moved into this business. Like his cousin who was active in Astra, Teddy Rachmat was involved in the founding of coal company Pama Persada.

In 2022 Forbes recorded Edwin’s wealth at US$1.8 billion (Rp 28.05 trillion). Then in 2023 Edwin was listed as the 39th richest with net US$1.24 billion (Rp 19.27 trillion). By 2024 his wealth reached US$1.6 billion.

TP Rachmat

Theodore Permadi Rachmat, known as Teddy, founded the Triputra Group.